Chilko Challenge Day 3

It was cold the night before day 3. We woke up with a good layer of frost on our tents and grass. There was a dog that had followed a group of riders through all of day 2 (someone had to take a 2 hour car ride to return this dog to its home ranch) and it barked half the night.

Day 3 was supposed to be the short day, 4-5 hours. We were to ride down the rode to the lake and follow a trail that circumnavigated the lake. There were 3 significant river crossings and we were told to be prepared to get our feet wet. In fact we were told to be prepared to get wet up to our chests.

After a hearty breakfast put on by the fantastic hostesses of Bracewell's Lodge we were on our way. Steve, one of the organizers, went off first because he said he had a surprise for us. When we got to the lake, instead of having to walk through a rushing glacier fed creek they had arranged for a barge to take us all about 1 km up the lake. There was even time to do some fishing.

Back on the trail we rode up a forest access rode to a ribbon of freshly cut single track. The trail popped us up on the Whale Back which gave us a great view down to the north end of Tatlayoko Lake, and a glimpse of how far we had to ride that day. Back down into the single track and we popped out again at the biggest river crossing of the day. A chest deep outflow river that we had to go through twice, once to carry our bike and again to carry our gear. The day was the warmest we had during the entire trip so the conditions were perfect.

The rest of the ride was on fairly fresh single track. The organizers spent 30 man days clearing this trail in time for the adventure, and I must say they did an excellent job. We spent more time on the bike on day 3 than on any other day and most of the trail was smooth with gentle climbs and descents for almost 40 km. 8 hours later (so much for a 4-5 hour day) we finished with a 1 km walk along the north beach to the finish line. The finish line consisted of a creek that we had to cross. We waited for the 4 of us to regroup and crossed together.

24 hours of riding in 3 days, some of the worst conditions I have ridden on a bike, some of the worst weather I have been out in and some of the best single track I have seen in my life. The 3 days were absolutely epic and I can't wait for next year.